The Unfortunate Snake and Bird
by Kage no Kitsune
Summary: The fates screw up and Uzumaki Naruto dies, so Sakura and Sasuke are sent on a mission to fix it. But how are they supposed to work together when Sakura still hasn't forgiven Sasuke for killing Naruto in the first place? Time Travel ficcy. SasuSaku.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Bound, the Unfortunate Snake and Bird**

Strangely, it wasn't raining. It had been _simply pouring_ for days on end in the past couple of weeks, but now, nothing. Sakura frowned angrily at the sky. It was as if the Gods were… Happy? Cheerful? Glad? Happy that Naruto, her last friend, was dead. _Yes_, Sakura thought bitterly, _everyone hated him because of that goddammed kyuubi monster, and even in death, he gets no respect_.

It should've been her other teammate, Sasuke, but no. He was still out there, and now, having finally killed his best friend, possessed the mangekyou sharingan eyes. When he had come to Konoha last week to finish the job he had started four years ago, Sakura felt she could no longer look at his handsome face.

_Why?_

--Was all she could think. Naruto was… in one word: _incredible_. He had been the boy who had gone from nothing to being one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, and yet, Sakura's fists clenched at the mere thought of his death. Why had that Sasuke-bastard ruined everything for her? Her heart – he had torn to pieces, her hopes – crushed, and now Naruto – dead.

It wasn't supposed to have been that way. Even though everyone told her that nothing could be done, Sakura knew. She knew that it wasn't supposed to be that way. Naruto, her happy-go-lucky teammate, was not supposed to be dead.

She knew, but what could she do about it?

So the kunoichi did the only thing she could at the moment- she cried.

_If only, if only… _

_If only there was something I could do. I would do anything for you, Naruto._

If she could, she would give up her life for him to come back.

-(x)-

Sasuke snorted uncharacteristically at his 'teammate' Karin. "Still no trace of him?" The girl opposite to the Uchiha shook her head 'no' and left the room. Sasuke sighed and twirled the kunai in his fingers faster. In the beginning, he had promised to achieve power in a different way, not by killing Naruto.

But after the last fight… The humiliation and anger at losing once more had prompted his curse seal to activate and take control. Now Naruto… The sharingan wielder's hold on his kunai he held tightened. Contrary to popular belief, he had not intended to kill his ex-best friend, Naruto. When the whole thing had been done, all he could do was look down numbly at he fox-boy's body.

To say the last, it was one of the biggest regrets in his life.

_If only… If only… I hadn't been so rash_.

No one knew of this, but after he had killed Itachi, Sasuke had originally planned to return to Konoha. He had figured that even if it was in ruins, he would help rebuild it some way with his ex-teammates. Naruto's unyielding optimism and charisma has rubbed off him somehow.

The Uchiha knew it was a mere fancy, but he couldn't help but indulge. Every night, he could see it. Naruto and he bickering like four-year olds and Sakura trying to stop them even though she was really enjoying their act.

Naruto would always have some place in Sasuke's heart, he knew that. It was from the first time Naruto had glared at him (a scenario ending up with Sasuke surrendering his first kiss to the boy) that he knew – this dobe's actually going to be my friend. Sakura was an entirely different matter.

Ever since he had been on team 7 to the time he had left, Sasuke had viewed her as a disgrace. She was annoying and focused too much on hair and himself to notice the world around her. The girl would always saunter up to him like a fool and believe that she really did love him. Don't get Sasuke wrong, back in his old days, he would've given anything to save his teammate, but nonetheless, she was annoying like hell.

But now, the dream was shattered. Sakura hated him more than ever and Naruto was gone, forever.

If he could, he would give anything to have his old genin days back – away from the pain and hate that had haunted him for so long.

-(x)-

A small, hunched figure on a pedestal smiled grimly. He had found his two rats.

"Now… let us go greet them."

In truth, Sakura had been absolutely right. Naruto, in fact, had not been fated to die that day, but somehow, fate had messed up. "So now, it's up to me to fix it!" The figure exclaimed tiredly. "Damn fates, everything is always up to me…" With a swish of his cloak, the man was gone.

-(x)-

Sakura smirked under her ANBU mask. The time had come for her to finally get revenge on Sasuke; it was an S-classed mission, to capture Sasuke if they could, and if they couldn't…

The rosette-haired kunoichi's smile got even wider, if possible. Would if be possible to say that he had resisted but Sakura had been forced to kill him? It didn't matter if Sasuke got on his knees and pleaded for forgiveness, Naruto was gone and Sakura had a duty to avenge him.

"Bird, we've located our target." The earpiece gave a small buzz to signal the end of a transmission.

"Okay owl, I'm in position." Another voice said.

"This is bird reporting in: I'm in position as well." Sakura said as she crouched behind a large bush. _I'm coming for you Sasuke_.

"Bird, this is owl, do not do anything rash. We have to try to capture him alive!" Shikamaru, their team leader, tried to remind her. _Tried _being the key word. Sakura had made up her mind that she would not let the youngest Uchiha alive live another day.

"I understand owl."

"Alright, everyone in position? Operation: Retrieve Sasuke Uchiha starts… NOW!"

In a quarter of a second the camp had been surrounded.

Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow; they still wanted to catch him? No matter, they would all be dead in a matter of minutes anyway. "Karin, Sugietsu, Juugo, you know what to do." His subordinates nodded their heads in comprehension. "Do not let any of them live." Sasuke could faintly see the blue-haired man in Hebi smirk.

"Roger."

-(x)-

Tenten had been down for a couple of minutes, and Neji was currently engaging in combat with Juugo of Hebi. Shikamaru and Hinata were trying to defeat Sugietsu with no avail, the man simply turned into water whenever they tried to attack him. Karin, the only female of Hebi, was fighting Lee, who seemed to have the upper hand.

Sakura had chosen to fight Sasuke, alone.

She knew that he had identified her; she smirked. That only made it better; she wanted Sasuke to know who was going to rip him apart.

The Uchiha, however, only regarded her coolly. Of all the ANBU they had, they sent Sakura after him? They must have underestimated Sasuke. Focusing on the match at hand, Sasuke dodged a punch from his last remaining teammate, Sakura. It was annoying him now how confidently she was presenting herself.

It was as if she knew that he was going to die at her hand. Ridiculous, Sasuke reprimanded himself.

Forming the necessary hand seals he blew out furious red flames.

"You're underestimating me, Uchiha." Sakura said, annoyed.

Sasuke only smirked. "I don't really think I am, Sa-Ku-Ra."

"YOU _BASTARD_!" Sakura recklessly started to charge forward, ignoring Shikamaru screams.

The necessary hand seals had been formed in under the blink of an eye and chidori was rapidly beginning to form. "It ends now, Sasuke."

_Tick. Tock. _

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

_**RIIIINNNNG. **_

"Time's up." Time stopped for Sasuke and Sakura, literally. A man appeared suddenly, holding a very large staff. "You must be Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha I presume." Sakura made no comment – she couldn't. Something had paralyzed her body; the world around her turned into a dull shade of gray and nobody moved. Sasuke was parallel to her, chidori formed, but no sound came from the attack.

Everything was frozen.

"I think you both know Naruto Uzumaki. He died a week ago." The man wagged his finger at Sasuke. "He was not supposed to die. Now, you two have to go and fix it." Gesturing with his hand, a chain suddenly appeared and bound Sakura and Sasuke together at the ankle. It solidified and glowed a faint purple hue.

"I will send you to the beginning to fix it, but you have to work _together_. Under no circumstances are you allowed to let either one of you die. Don't tell anyone your names and try not to be recognized. Here. I'll change you a bit." Sakura's short pink hair turned white and started to grow, reaching her mid back. Her once emerald eyes were turned into pitiless black holes.

Sasuke's appearance did not change much at all; his hair grew long as well and was tied formally into a ponytail. Scowling mentally, Sasuke thought that he looked like a younger version of Itachi. As if reading his thoughts, the man turned to him. "You may not go off on a search of Itachi and will not fight him unless he is threatening your charge. Do you understand?"

Sasuke did not move.

"I think that's about all… Oh! One reminder to you Sasuke, I changed your appearance so that when you turn on your sharingan you do not look any different. So, off you go my children. Fix it… somehow."

Slowly, both their bodies started to move forward, away from the old man. He shouted to them one last time: "REMEMBER, TEAMMWORK! TEAMMWEORK!" Slowly, his voice faded from existence. Sakura's eyes closed as she fell into a peaceful slumber.

The last thing she remembered was Sasuke whispering in her ear: _Gomenasai._

But when she woke up, she would think it was nothing more than a dream…

**Yay. Review if you have any questions, comments, etc… Alright, it's six in the morning and I should go. Bye!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. **


	2. Chapter One: Naruto

**Chapter One: Naruto**

Sakura groaned. She was currently lying on top of something very warm and the sunlight was attempting to wake her up. _Go away_, she told it, _I want to sleep in today_.

"Sakura," a deep voice intoned, "Will you get off me?" It was then that Sakura realized something was wrong. She sprang up as if she had been bitten. _You_. Glaring at Sasuke, the kunoichi had begun to gather chakra into her hand, preparing for a punch. Sasuke noticed this. "You can't hurt me Sakura; remember what the old man said?" Sakura wished that she hadn't.

"It wasn't… a dream?"

"Take a look around." The streets of Konoha were filed with tons and tons of people. It was back to its past glory, no longer ruined by war. It felt so wrong to be back there, especially since she still looked sixteen. "Sakura, we have to ask someone what day it is."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't give a rat's ass what that old man said; I am not working with you, you sonofabitch traitor." Sasuke sighed as he got up, patting himself to rid his body of any dirt.

"You don't have a choice. Let's go." Sakura suddenly wondered why Sasuke was talking to her so calmly. It was as if he had never killed Naruto and they were just old chums off on another mission. What was wrong with him? Had he suddenly lost his mind or something?

"Like something you see?"

Snapping out of her reverie, Sakura gave an unwomanly snort. "I'm not particularly attracted to fools, Sasuke. How can you be so calm? A week ago, you attacked and killed Naruto. Do you remember him Sasuke? Do you even realize that you're an S-class criminal in our bingo books? That I had just been on a mission to retrieve you and even _kill _you if necessary?"

"No one knows who we are right now Sakura. We're back here because we've come to save Naruto."

_Naruto._

_Naruto. Naruto. Naruto._

_Alive. Alive._

_NARUTO. _

It took a while before it finally sunk in.

"I-I… Are we really going to do this?"

"We don't have a choice." Sasuke replied. Strangely, he sounded… pleased, almost, as if the prospect of seeing Naruto made him… happy. But it wasn't possible, Sakura told herself, it was just her imagining things. After all, Sasuke was the one who killed him. No matter how nice Sasuke was to her, she couldn't let herself forgive him for that fact.

But Sasuke was already trudging along to the busy streets below, earning someappreciative looks from various women in the village. He turned back to face her again. 'Come on.' He seemed to say to her wordlessly, and for once, Sakura made no argument and followed. The females glared at her menacingly, but she ignored them, and even… pitied them. '_He's a fool and a bastard_.' She wanted to say to them.

After all, she had no right to criticize them. Wasn't she the one who had once fallen in love with the gorgeous avenger before? The one who pledged her love to him on that dark night?

"Excuse me sir, but what day is it?"

The man told them all they needed to know. Apparently, they were at the very beginning of their ninja careers. "Wouldn't it have been easier if the man had sent us to when you had killed him?" Sakura mused out loud. Sasuke only shrugged in response. He turned his attention to finding a place for them to stay.

"We have no money, Sasuke." Sakura complained. She was starting to get ticked off by Sasuke's very presence. The initial bubble of joy she had when she found out that Naruto was still alive seemed to wear off slightly. It was enough for Sakura to make a critical assessment of the situation.

In all honesty, Sakura felt foolish.

What was she doing? Believing in the words of a senile old man and trailing after Sasuke like a puppy. Had she forgotten that he was dangerous? That it was just all a hallucination? Why was she doing this? It was only going to hurt her more in the end. It was all a dream and when she woke up, it would shatter into a million pieces.

Sasuke being there and helping was enough proof that it was all a dream.

He was taking it all so _calmly_ too…

"How do you stay so calm?" Sakura asked after a moment's hesitation. "Aren't you worried that… that this is all a dream?" He didn't answer her, but she knew.

He was thinking the same thing.

Asking the same questions.

And a. little piece of Sakura's heart went out to him… only a little though. They had to stay together, that much was clear. Food? Shelter? The mission? How were they supposed to keep track of it all? All her worries abruptly flew out of her mind. That voice. Naruto.

She ran and ran as fast as she could, dimly aware that Sasuke was right besides her, shooting her a strange look. But then, he heard it too and they _knew_.

"Naruto." Sakura's words came out as a husky whisper.

"Naruto." Sasuke agreed. And something in his heart lifted at the thought.

Ichiraku's. Sakura made a sharp right turn and quickly lifted the flaps at the entrance. She was met with the surprised faces of Iruka and Naruto. "Eh?" The blonde's words were drowned out as Sasuke appeared beside her. "Eh?" Naruto asked again, his eyes bugging out a little. Sakura huffed from the exertion of the sprint.

"Are you guys okay?" Iruka asked concernedly.

Sasuke nodded and eased Sakura into a seat. The Uchiha still had his composure; the run had not taken anything out of him. It just showed Sakura further how much_ stronger_ he was than her. "We're new in town and haven't had anything to eat for a while." Their ex-sensei smiled.

"Let me treat you then. I can help you settle in." Sakura only nodded, still in too much shock to say much else to him. Naruto was eying her suspiciously. Finally realizing what a mess she must've looked like, she smiled fondly at Naruto, who blushed and looked away.

"Uh…"

Giggling, Sakura ordered a bowl of miso ramen from Teuchi. Sasuke ordered the same, seating himself gracefully next to her. Soon afterwards, Naruto began to eye her and Sasuke again.

"Something on my face?" Sakura asked innocently.

He shook his head vigorously. "No, it's just that you remind me of Sakura-chan."

"Really?" The kunoichi fluttered her eyelashes. "Is she pretty?"

"Hm… not really. Her forehead is kind of large." If it was possible, Sakura already wanted to beat Naruto into a pulp. The corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted a little. "But… Sakura-chan is Sakura-chan, and I don't care how she looks. She's not really stunning like you are lady, but she's pretty in her own kind of way." Naruto looked down, a deep red staining his cheeks. Sakura's heart wrenched in her chest.

She had been such a fool to treat him like she had before. Sakura might've never developed romantic feelings for Naruto, but she could've been a better friend.

Sakura then made a promise. She would teach her younger self that beauty and Sasuke weren't worth her time. She smiled faintly as Naruto began to gulp down his ramen again. She was just dying to keep the conversation going.

"Is that a headband? Are you a shinobi?" the blonde's chest puffed out a little. _Hook, line and sinker_.

"Yep! I'm the greatest ninja ever!" Naruto exclaimed, showing off his ninja headband.

Off to the side, Sasuke snorted.

"What did you say, bastard?"

"You don't look like a ninja to me, kid."

"Don't call me kid! You're only a couple years older than I am."

"I'm also about three feet taller than you." People were starting to stare, but when they saw Naruto, they shot him a nasty look and brushed it off as usual Naruto behavior. Sakura glared at them fiercely in retaliation.

"That's it! You and me, right now, bastard!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Don't blame me when your head is in the ground."

Sakura gave him a look, one that said: 'sit-down-now-or-I-fucking-barbeque-your-ass-Uchiha.'

Sasuke grunted and sat back down reluctantly. Iruka tiredly rapped Naruto on the head. "Don't be rude, you baka, these people are new in town. The least you could do is try to be polite." Naruto frowned.

"Fine, but I have to leave now. After all, I want to wake up early for Kakashi-sensei's _**SUPER-CHALLENGING**_ mission for _**only elite ninjas**_ tomorrow." He aimed the last part at Sasuke, and stalked off.

"Sorry," Iruka apologized as his student's back became smaller and smaller, "he's always like that."

Sakura smiled. "No, no, it's my friend's _entire _fault. Do you mind taking us to see the hokage-sama?" Iruka nodded and motioned for them to come with him.

Sasuke had not missed the double meaning behind the pink-haired shinobi's words.

-(x)-

Sakura sighed as she felt the warm rays of sunshine flit on her back. Somehow, they had gotten past the hokage, claiming that they were running away from their own village because nuke-nin had attacked and burned it to the ground recently. They had no papers, but their excuse made up for it. There was no suspicion in the hokage's eyes. In the end, they said they would do shinobi work for the village if the hokage could give them a place to stay and money for rent and food.

Seeing as they were still looking for jobs for both her and Sasuke, Sakura figured it would be good to train for a while. Reluctant to leave the Uchiha alone and needing a sparring partner, the kunoichi had dragged Sasuke with her. Or rather _Ai _dragged _Takeshi_ to the training grounds where they had first worked together as a team.

"Come on _Takeshi_. I refuse to leave you alone; god knows what you do in your spare time." Probably torture innocent bunnies, inner Sakura supplied.

"Hn."

-(x)-

"You pass." The ominous clouds above started to dissipate as Kakashi smiled. "In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are trash, but those who don't take care of their friends are even lower than trash." Naruto's eyes started to water. _I'm finally a ninja!_

"Let's go home." Kakashi started to walk away, Sakura and Sasuke trailing behind him.

"Wait for me guys!" Struggling with him bindings, Naruto started to yell, but his teammates didn't seem to notice.

"Forgot something?" Ai's cool voice flitted through the training area. Takeshi was besides her, smirking at the struggling Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke turned around. Kakashi smiled sheepishly as his visible eye crinkled in amusement.

"Hey! It's you guys!"

Ai winked at Naruto. "You bet." Taking out one of her own kunai, she struck the log with perfect aim, slicing off all of the ropes binding the blonde.

The younger Sakura was currently drooling over Takeshi (1). '_Oh my god! He's so hot… even cuter than Sasuke-kun, no! I have to remain faithful to my Sasuke-kun_.' While said 'Sasuke-kun' was currently glaring at Takeshi. _Something about him… He reminds me of my brother…_

Takeshi was returning the glare with a smirk. "Like something you see, ochibi?" Sasuke was fuming.

"Do you want to fight?" He asked. Takeshi shrugged dispassionately.

"You're not strong enough yet to fight with me."

If it was possible to kill someone just by looking at them, both Takeshi and Sasuke would be dead already. Sasuke suddenly took out a kunai, "Then fight me, or are you chicken?" Takeshi took out the katana at his side. _I need to teach my younger self once and for all how weak he is_. Ai and Sakura watched worriedly from the sidelines.

"_Takeshi-kun_, what the fuck are you doing?" Ai asked uneasily.

"Stay out of this."_ I_ _need to teach a lesson to this squirt. After all, this is all part of our mission isn't it? So Sakura, stay out of my way._

Sasuke charged forward, weapon in hand.

* * *

**(1) Whenever I refer to future Sasuke, it'll be **_Takeshi_**. When I refer to past Sasuke, I'll say **_Sasuke. _**Sakura will be the same thing, but with the name **_Ai_**. I will always do that unless past Sasuke and past Sakura aren't in the area. I wish I could have some easier way of doing it, but I don't. Sorry about that. **

**Thanks for reading, as always. Someone last chapter said that they'd like to see Sakura's new form. I did draw a picture on this request, but trust me, it is not pretty. I have absolutely no artistic talent at all (--;;) Still, if I ever do the time I'll put it on deviantart and notify you anyone who wants to know. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Comments? Questions? Mention them in your review. **


	3. Chapter Two: The Two Halves of Sasuke

**Chapter Two: The Two Halves of Sasuke**

As Sasuke reached Takeshi, the older teen present grabbed Sasuke's kunai and twisted his arm around in one motion. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock_. How? So quickly_… Ai quickly took note of Kakashi's growing suspicion and prepared to separate the two. "Takeshi-kun!" She yelled.

_Takeshi _was not done with his opponent. "You say you're strong, but you can't even land a punch on me. Do you call this power? If you want real power you have to be prepared to give everything up. The way you are right now can't achieve anything, honestly, you're pathetic. You have a goal don't you? If you aren't prepared to go all the way for your dream, there's no point in anything."

Ai watched in rapidly growing horror. Takeshi was not teaching his younger self anything, he was speeding up the process that would ultimately lead to…

"TAKESHI!" The teen still paid no attention to his teammate, who growled out in frustration. She should have never begun to trust the bastard, all he wanted... All he lived for was his stupid dream Nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing. The old man had been stupid to believe that he could ever try and think of saving Naruto.

Tears were starting to gather in Ai's eyes. How could she have been so stupid? All the anger she had once held for the avenger was back, she aimed a furious punch at him and his younger self. They both dodged, and the stone behind them was suddenly pulverized. It hadn't even been turned into smaller pieces of stone, it… disappeared into dust.

Everyone except Takeshi gaped openly.

"Takeshi-kun, we leave. NOW." Ai coldly ordered as she started to drag the teen away from their past selves. Takeshi took note of her gathering tears and scoffed.

"Crying again?"

Ai froze.

"_You_…" she never finished her sentence and promptly left him where he stood.

-(x)-

Sasuke almost sighed in annoyance as he watched his teammate, Sakura, leave. So he had asked her if she was crying, so what? It wasn't as if he wasn't allowed to ask her anything. Casting one last glance back at his younger self, Sasuke walked calmly forward, trying to ignore the tension between him and the white-haired kunoichi.

What was she so mad about anyways? Tch. Women.

He noticed that Sakura had picked up her pace. She suddenly whipped around to face him. "Don't follow me around Uchiha." To say he was surprised would've been an understatement. His teammate wasn't crying at all, she was _glaring _with a ferocity he didn't know could ever exist.

"What are you so angry about?"

Now that they were out of earshot, Sakura felt like she could finally vent out her frustrations to the avenger.

"What am I angry about? You fool. What the _hell_ were you doing back there? You really are the most selfish person alive Sasuke. The need for power, you're… teaching it to him. What are you trying to do? Kill Naruto faster?" She shook her head. "I'd been a naive child to trust you Sasuke, after all these years… you are just like your brother, Itachi. We are not working together anymore, I'll save Naruto. Just make sure you don't get in my way."

"Don't _ever_ compare me to him."

Sakura chuckled coldly. "Tell me, in what way are you not like your brother?"

"Sakura, he _killed_ my whole family_… murdered_ them on the spot…" How dare she compare him to Itachi?

"You _killed_ Naruto, Sasuke. You butchered_ thousands_ and_ thousands_ on your quest for revenge. A quest for power, that's all your life has been. That's all _his_ life has been too. So tell me, Sasuke, how are you not like him?"

Sasuke made no comment as his ex-teammate smirked. She stalked off with some final words of warning, "Don't get in my way, Uchiha. We are definitely _not_ working together."

-(x)-

Sitting on his pedestal again, the old man made a noise half-way between a snort and a growl. "Those damn kids. They need to work together, don't they understand that? I don't have enough energy to get someone else to do the job…"

He frowned as he stared at the mirror which showed him the real world. Finally, he sighed; his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"What can I do? They have to fix it themselves…"

He turned his beady yellow eyes back to watching his two rats.

"There has to be something I can do… Dammit…"

-(x)-

Sasuke (older) wandered meaninglessly in the streets. Sakura, no doubt, had gone off back to the apartment or somewhere to train. He did not relish the thought of seeing her again. When the old man had first told them of their little 'mission', Sasuke hadn't been happy, so to say. It wasn't that he had been annoyed to have to do such a task, but it was more that he was stunned and quite disbelieving.

After seeing Konoha again, he was convinced that it was not a genjutsu of any sort. When he had first arrived, he had opened his eyes and activated the sharingan, (careful not o disturb Sakura, who was resting on him) trying to perceive if it was a strong type of genjutsu.

Now that they had been there a full week, Sasuke had started to believe more and more that it was not an illusion. If it was, it was definitely strong, and not many people in the world could hold such a strong illusion over him for such a period of time. So, after a couple of days, the Uchiha had started to brighten up.

Finally, he would be able to defeat his murderous traitor of a brother; the best thing was that he knew exactly when Itachi would strike. That would give him the perfect chance to find and kill his brother. Afterwards, he would be able to enjoy his life. Even if it was only for a couple of months, the Uchiha enjoyed the thought of spending time with Naruto and Sakura like they had once been as a team.

Well, more so Naruto than Sakura.

Of course there was the issue of his younger self, but that would be figured out in due time. The thing currently pressing on his mind was his white-haired ex-teammate. It would be best if he was on her good side, for one, she was the only one who knew how to deal with other people, unlike himself, who would rather chop off heads than make pleasant conversation.

Besides, if he didn't make it up to her soon, the mission would probably be shot to hell.

He hated to admit it, but he needed his teammate.

They worked together well, (even though he considered her somewhat weaker than himself) and she wasn't too annoying to be around. Plus, how would they be team seven (his team 7) if they didn't have their annoying female teammate?

That shouldn't have even mattered to him, but it did. (Even though it was only very slightly)

Sasuke sighed, now deep in thought.

What had he done to make her so angry? He reviewed the day's events in his head. There was the comment about crying, but it was merely a question and shouldn't have caused such a rise in Sakura. Perhaps it had been the whole 'attacking his younger self' thing. There was pretty much nothing he could do about that, after all, he still had a goal.

But…

The old man had told him to forget about Itachi and focus on his charge. Was he being to selfish?

Sasuke continued to walk down the streets, glancing at the ground angrily.

He couldn't give up Itachi…

It had been his dream for all those years to kill him. To feel his brother's blood on his hands was what he had _lived_ for.

Sasuke sighed and stared upwards. The sun was shining brightly, and he was reminded once again of how the old man had given him a mission to save his best friend. That was what he was supposed to be focusing on… not Itachi.

Not killing his brother…

The Uchiha glared at the sky. This time, he would have to give up Itachi. For Naruto's sake. For Sakura's sake… for Team 7's sake.

Resolved, Sasuke picked up his pace.

That DID not mean he was going to let his younger self wallow in his own stupidity for several years. He was going to set his younger self's head on straight, even if it had to be by force. Then he would save Naruto.

Itachi would come later.

-(x)-

"Umm… Sasuke-kun… do you want to go on a d-date some time…?"

"Go away Sakura, I have to train." Younger Sasuke glared at his pink-haired teammate and took out another kunai. The fight with Takeshi earlier had left him in a bad mood. He hadn't realized how weak he was… if he couldn't beat that stupid prick Takeshi, he would never be able to kill his brother. From behind him, Sakura fiddled with her fingers. The dark-haired avenger sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

Sakura could be so goddammed _annoying _sometimes.

"Go. Away. Sakura."

She sighed and turned to leave. "Bye Sasuke-kun."

His anger kept the smidgen of guilt at bay as Sasuke continued to train.

"It serves her right for being so annoying…" Why did she have to fawn over him so much anyways?

Unknown to him, Sakura had heard her teammate's mutter and tears started to pool in her eyes. Every time she asked, he would turn her down with a cold glare. They were teammates now, but nothing had changed. What was she doing wrong? All she ever wanted was for him to notice her, but to him, she was nothing more than a nuisance…

Sakura stifled a sob. What was she doing crying?

It was pathetic to cry like a baby, and she didn't want Sasuke to hear her. The pink-haired girl started to run away from the training grounds and only stopped when she passed by a bench.

It was the bench that she had been sitting on that day Sasuke had actually been_ nice_ to her. It was the only time he had ever been nice to her. What was she doing wrong? Was she not pretty enough? Sakura knew she wasn't the prettiest kunoichi around, but…

Sighing dejectedly, she sat down.

In the distance, she could hear footsteps. Sakura lifted her head.

"Ai-san…?"

It was Ai. Sakura frowned and looked enviously at the older kunoichi. She was beautiful AND strong. Someone who Sasuke probably would want…

Seeing her, Ai hurried over. The dark look she was sporting before disappeared.

"Hey! You're Sakura-chan, right? Are you… crying?"

Sakura shook her head quickly and tried to hide her tears. She was such a disgrace. She was crying in front of a stranger!

Ai only smiled kindly.

"What happened?"

"Um…" What could she say? There was something about Ai that… It was almost as if Ai was an older sister to her already. "S-Sasuke-kun turned me down… again."

The smile on Ai's lips disappeared. "Why do you care about him? You shouldn't let what a guy does get you down, especially someone like that Sasuke guy."

"B-But… all I want is for him to like me…"

Strangely, the older kunoichi's face darkened in anger. "So that's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"So that's it? That's your big goal in life? To make some _guy _fall in love with you?" Ai paused and glared furiously at the pink-haired girl. "You are a kunoichi for God's sakes! How can you devote your whole goddammed life to some stupid fucking guy?" Her voice rose and quivered in anger.

Sakura backed away unconsciously, more tears were starting to fall. She knew what Ai was saying was true, but it _hurt_… She had always known that she wasn't a very good kunoichi, especially when it came to physical tasks, so why did Ai's words hurt her so much?

"Don't be so worthless! You're going to be a disgrace to your team if you continue to fantasize about a guy who will never look you way. Stop being a stupid little girl and get your head out of the clouds. Focus on what you have in front of you. Focus on your real friends. Naruto-kun seems like a really nice person too. All you do is make fun of him and treat him with disrespect. How can you call yourself a teammate?

"Do you know anything about your fellow 'teammates'? Do you know why they are so serious about being shinobi? Because they have dreams worth fighting for! What's your dream? To settle down and act like a stupid fucking _housewife_ for the rest of your life? That's fine. But if you want to stop being dead weight to your teammates, you've gotta start thinking more.

"Start training. Start using your abilities. Stop dreaming about your beloved _Sasuke-kun_," There was so much venom that Sakura was temporarily surprised. The pink-haired girl was sobbing loudly now, the tears wouldn't stop coming. It hurt, it hurt so much to be called worthless… even though, that was what she was.

Suddenly, Ai's anger dissipated completely and she smiled warmly at Sakura.

"So … please… listen to my proposition. Let me train you."

Sakura quickly wiped away the tears, surprised at the gentleness and care in Ai's voice. Where was the anger and venom? Sakura smiled herself. Things were starting to shift for her. Ai's speech, for some reason, had touched her in a way nothing ever had.

Her perspective started to change. She really had been a stupid girl before.

Fawning over her teammate Sasuke when he never even cared. Inner Sakura roared. **We'll show him we're too good for him. Shannaro! **Sakura's smile got wider. Anger bubbled up inside her and it was all directed at… Sasuke. Strange, Sakura had never been mad at the avenger before.

_Yes_, she thought, _I have a job. I have a job a kunoichi to protect my village, don't I?_

Sakura made a vow. Even if her teammates viewed her as trash, she would never be weak. She would show them that she wasn't the fangirl she had been. She had to prove to Ino, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke... the village that she wasn't what they thought she was. A new feeling came over her. Determination. Determination to beat her teammates and to show them... to be proud of who she was and what she could acomplsih.

Sakura started to bloom.

The pink-haired kunoichi wondered why all her dreams had suddenly changed. Was it only because of Ai's words? Or was it Sasuke-kun too? It didn't matter. After another few moments of silence, Sakura finally spoke. "Okay, please, train me, Ai-sensei."

Ai grinned. "I promise that I won't go easy on you."

"I know, but I promised to myself that I wouldn't be anything you just said. I don't want to be worthless."

"Yeah."

* * *

**Did you enjoy the chapter? I always wanted Sakura to grow up in the beginning. Now, in my story, she has. I also decided to put up my picture, I'll put a link on my profile when I can and I'll notify you all.**

**Thanks for reading, and as always…**

**REVIEW. **

**Questions? Comments? All welcome. **


	4. Chapter Three: The Evolution of Sakura

**Chapter Three: The Evolution of Sakura**

It was approximately four o'clock in the morning.

Usually, the twelve-year-old would get up around six or seven so she could get ready to train with her team, but today was a start of something completely _different_ for Sakura. Grunting from exertion, she tried once more. So far, she had made it up three-fourths of the tree, but her chakra usually started to waver near the last one-fourth. She muttered something under her breath and fell to the forest floor, trying to land gracefully.

Sakura sighed and glared angrily at the tree.

**WE WILL CONQUER YOU! Shannaro! **Inner Sakura growled menacingly.

From the side, Ai smiled. She could still remember the first time she had done this exercise with Kakashi-sensei. She was the one who accomplished it first – thanks to her excellent chakra control – but her chakra reserves were pathetic and she couldn't finish the whole tree like Naruto and Sasuke later did. They surpassed her, _again_, on that very day.

But Ai had plans for her 'student'. For one, she would train the girl to the verge of death – literally – and build up the basics first. This was only the first day, so she was just seeing how far her younger self could go before the real training began.

From above, Sakura growled again. She had tried to use different ways to make her chakra last longer, but it always ran out near the end. She was getting tired. The pink-haired girl remembered when Ai-sensei had shown her the technique. Her new sensei could make it to the top without breaking a sweat. To even prove her point more, Ai had 'hopped' up the tree with one foot – physically impossibly from Sakura's point of view – and then jumped down, landing gracefully in front of her bewildered pupil.

"Arg." She was slipping again.

-(x)-

When Sakura had appeared at the bridge, she was covered in scratches and bruises everywhere. Her pink hair was in disarray, and she was _late_. Even later than Kakashi-sensei, who came only two hours after the appointed time (She was two hours and twenty minutes late). Ai-sensei (as Sakura had taken to calling her) had insisted that Sakura do more push-ups and more laps around the training field, even though it was late. When she tried to protest, her teacher had given her a 'look' which thoroughly chilled Sakura's bones.

Naruto stared curiously at her, so did Sasuke – more subtly though – while Kakashi-sensei had only quirked one eyebrow upward in a questioning expression. Sakura smiled sheepishly. At the moment, she had no intention of telling everyone about her special training sessions, she wanted to surprise everyone later when she had achieved real results.

"I fell… down a hill when coming here… because I was in a hurry." Was that even believable? Sakura groaned as she stretched out her arm, ignoring the suspicious looks everyone was giving her. They probably wouldn't believe that she had been training anyways, given how much she hadn't cared about it before.

Sakura stole a glance at Sasuke – who was looking away, seemingly believing in her excuse - though, for some reason, she still couldn't completely forget him. She had told Ai-sensei that she wouldn't fawn over the Uchiha anymore, and she didn't. Sakura promised never to go up and ask him for a date ever again. She wouldn't stare at him continuously during the day either. But still… it wasn't like she could just _decide_ to get over her crush.

She realized it was a crush though, one that would go away with time. So _why_ didn't it go away already? He wasn't_ that_ cool. Her heart argued by beating furiously in her chest as she stared. Suddenly, Sakura turned away. She sighed. It wasn't going to be easy surpassing them completely…

But there was no doubt that she could try.

-(x)-

Sakura unlocked the door to the apartment she shared with Sasuke – or Takeshi, as she had been mockingly calling him for a while – and cautiously watched her ex-teammate, who was sitting casually on their couch. He didn't acknowledge her as she went in, and that was absolutely fine with her.

So what if Sasuke was ignoring her existence? Didn't he always do that with her?

There was a rapidly developing void between them – not that they'd ever been close before – and Sakura was still too angry at him to attempt to close it.

-(x)-

Sasuke watched as the white-haired female walked back in. He was a little bit curious to where she had been going in the mornings, but it didn't really matter to him. It was probably some girl thing, he'd figured. "Sakura,"

She viewed him curiously. "Yes, Takeshi-kun?" She then asked in an overly-sweet voice.

He frowned. He was starting to hate that name now. It was even more frustrating because she was still obviously very mad at him. On the last mission that they'd had, a C-ranked escort job, the charges who they were supposed to protect kept hitting on him. Did he mention that one of them was male?

And, oh, how helpful Sakura had been.

Instead to telling Koji, the only son of a wealthy merchant, to buzz off, she dropped little 'hints' that Sasuke might interested.

As if.

He so did_ not_ swing that way… (Not that he ever showed any interest in girls before, but still…)

That didn't stop Koji from trying to rub his butt numerous times throughout their journey. Sasuke shook head, trying to focus on bridging the void between him and Sakura. She had proven that her cooperation was needed for things to go smoothly for him.

"Call me Sasuke when we're not in public." He would never actually admit to her that he was getting _annoyed_ with the name.

She smiled in response and left.

Things were obviously _not_ going well with them.

-(x)-

"YES! Bull's-eye!"

"Don't stop moving, grab another round and try to knock off your previous kunai while still hitting the bull's-eye."

"What?!"

"Do it, or do you want to try the 'deflecting softballs' exercise again?"

"Err… I'll get right on it, Ai-sensei."

"That's what I thought."

Sakura sighed and grabbed ten more kunai from her weapons pouch. How on earth was she supposed to knock off all her previously thrown kunai while still hitting the bull's-eye?

One-

Two-

Three-

A variety of _thunks_ filled the air. "Dammit!" The pink-haired genin had developed quite a vocabulary, courtesy of her shishou, among other things. "Only two?" She had hit off six of the previous kunai but only two of them made the bull's-eye.

"That's good enough, Sakura, take a break from target practice, I want to discuss something else with you."

"HAI!"

"While I'm talking to you, give me one-hundred and fifty push-ups."

"Err… okay."

"Sakura, your form had gotten much better than I started teaching you. Your taijutsu is much better than when you started. Your chakra reserves are as large as the average chunin's, and you can utilize weapons much better now."

Sakura smiled faintly to herself; Ai-sensei rarely complimented her.

"Thank y-"

"BUT."

Sighing softly, Sakura quickened her push-ups, waiting for the inevitable criticism. "What is it, Ai-sensei?"

"I think it is time I taught you some ninjutsu and something else I've been saving especially for you."

Stopping instantly, Sakura's mouth fell open. "WHAT?"

"You don't want to?"

"Of course I do!"

The sixteen-year old smiled. "Okay, stop the push-ups and pay attention to what I'm about to show you."

-(x)-

A very large woman clutched her little cat tightly. "OH! Tora-chan, I was SO worried about you." The cat struggled harder, but failed to escape from its owner's grasp.

Off to the side, Naruto smiled triumphantly, '_Take that you stupid cat_!'

Sakura giggled softly and secretly pitied to the cat. How terrible it must be to have that woman as an owner.

It was another boring mission, one to capture a runaway cat. Sakura was getting restless; she had almost perfected Ai-sensei's technique. Other than a few simple medical jutsus, the 'technique' was all she had learned in the past couple of days, but she had managed to grasp it quite well in such a short amount of time, even her sensei was impressed.

According to the looks of it, Naruto was getting frustrated with the number of low level missions they were getting assigned.

The hokage sat calmly at his desk, reading off various missions that their team would be allowed to do.

"NO! NO! I WANT A HARDER MISSION!"

Iruka-sensei sighed while Naruto continued to yell loudly.

Finally, the hokage spoke up calmly. "Fine, I'll assign you guys a C-ranked mission."

"REALLY?!"

'_Really…? This could be a great opportunity to test out my new skills._'

"This is a body guarding mission. In fact, let me introduce you to him right now." A man holding a sake bottle walked in nonchalantly.

'_This is who we're protecting? In the end, it's just another boring mission…_'

-(x)-

The team departed the next day. Not one minute into it, Naruto started arguing with their charge.

'_I know Ai-sensei told us to be nicer to Naruto, but he really can be annoying_.'

'_**DAMN STRAIGHT! IF HE DOESN'T SHUT UP, I'M GOING TO KICK HIS FACE IN!**_'

They started to walk out of the gates, passing a puddle of water on their way. Curiously, Sakura eyed it. '_That's…_?'

Instead of saying anything, she continued on her way. '_… Shinobi must see underneath the underneath, right, Ai-sensei? Tazuna-san didn't tell us all the details of this mission…'_

Right…

_There_!

A shinobi appeared suddenly behind the silver-haired jonin, wrapping a metal chain around Kakashi's body and slicing it apart. Sakura's eyes widened, and then slowly narrowed. '_A jonin couldn't have been defeated that easily… is Kakashi-sensei testing us? Fine. Let's show him what we've got_.'

'_**CHA!**_'

-(x)-

**Back in Konoha:**

"Hokage-sama, you called for me?" Sakura (the sixteen-year-old one) bowed respectfully in front of Sarutobi's desk. The old man sat quietly as he smoked.

Exhaling a puff of white smoke, he made a gesture, and the two chunin stationed at his door left quickly. "I am aware that you have been training Haruno Sakura from Team 7, currently under the jonin Kakashi. Is this correct?"

"… Yes, Hokage-sama."

"What are your intentions?"

"I merely wish to instruct her… Sakura-chan is a smart girl," It was awkward to talk about herself like this, the white-haired female observed, "She can make something of herself if she tries. I meant nothing bad by it."

"I see," Sighing, the third hokage leaned forward hesitantly, "I have some questions about the techniques you've been teaching her. These… techniques are very unique to someone I knew… might I inquire as to where you've learned them?"

"I taught them to myself."

"… I see. One more thing, I have a mission for you and your friend, Takeshi-kun."

Sakura frowned.

"What is the mission?"

"This is a regular C-ranked mission. It should be no problem to chunins such as yourselves. This is a simple observation mission. I wish for you to trail after Team 7, the one Haruno Sakura's on, and make sure nothing happens to them on their mission."

"I understand. Where is the mission taking place?"

"The wave country. Gather your friend Takeshi and depart soon, they are already on their way. All the information you need is in the mission scroll. Do not interfere with the mission unless absolutely needed. You may not notify anyone on Team 7 that you are trailing after them. I am sure Kakashi might notice, but he will not bother you."

"I understand, Hokage-sama."

Bowing one more time, Sakura left, gripping the mission scroll tightly in her left hand.

"Now… let's see who you really are, _Ai_."

* * *

**Okay, chapter 3! Thanks for all the reviews you've given me, keep it up! If anyone doesn't already know, the link to Ai (Sakura) is on my profile, I'm sorry if you think the picture is crappy, but I'm not the greatest artist…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **


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